Trona is a mineral that contains about 85-95% sodium sesquicarbonate dihydrate (Na2CO3.NaHCO3.2H2O). A vast deposit of mineral trona is found in southwestern Wyoming near Green River. This deposit includes beds of trona and mixed trona and halite (rock salt or NaCl) which covers approximately 2,600 km2. The major trona beds range in size from less than 428 km2 to at least 1,870 km2. By conservative estimates, these major trona beds contain about 75 billion metric tons of ore. The different beds overlap each other and are separated by layers of shale. The quality of the trona varies depending on its particular location in the stratum. Because trona is found contiguous to shale, the trona ore frequently contains shale impurities. Because shale impurities are undesirable in the product, there is a need to develop processing technologies to remove such impurities from trona.